Opinion & Articles

They say you should never meet your heroes. I’ve been lucky enough to have met some of mine and I have never found that to be the case. They have been gracious, humble and even a little surprised to find that they are still revered long after they have hung up their boots. To a man they have been approachable and happy to talk about the good old days. There has been one exception: Alex Young.

Everton Heritage Society's Pete Jones marks the 100th anniversary of the end of five months of carnage at the Somme with his fourth and final account for ToffeeWeb of the links between Everton and the First World War's most infamous battle.

Everton now reportedly possess the capital that can help them recruit a high calibre of player but, for a club still striving to bridge the gap to the genuine juggernauts of the of the English game, it’s imperative the path from the Academy to the first-team is clear.

A lot of people who visit the First World War battlefields talk about curious, even strange experiences. However, one coincidence makes one wonder sometimes. It is a story about two sportsmen and two letters with the backdrop of the terrible events of July 1916. It even has a link to a famous hostelry on Goodison Road. The coincidence is remarkable and can perhaps be interpreted as more than mere chance.

Ronald Koeman has shown a precedent for assisting players of Mirallas’s ilk and can add the functional base to the winger’s skill set that was lacking under his predecessor. But, for a player who has so many natural gifts, the time has come for him to seize control of his own destiny at Goodison Park.

A story about distances and journeys: a football tour, a new team, and a story that ends with journeys that took three men across the fields of northern France and the bloodiest day in Britain’s military history.

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